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Chester CountyPRESS
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Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 153, No. 33
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
$1.00
Public works departments endure summer heat By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Recently, scientists officially pronounced July 2019 as the warmest month ever recorded in the history of weather recordkeeping. It hit 101.7 degrees in Cambridge, England, and 108.7 in Paris, and in Chester County, everywhere from West Chester to Oxford slow-basted underneath a broiling sun. As temperature forecasts predicted the thermometer to register in the high 90s, Chester County officials issued a Code Red alert for extreme heat, signaling that certain procedures are
put in place when the daytime temperatures reach 95 degrees by 11 a.m. on two consecutive days, or when temperatures reach 100 degrees on any given day. During the early-morning hours of July 22 – a Code Red day – a three-and-ahalf foot wide tree came down across Bucktoe Road in New Garden Township, that took with it all of the power lines in the immediate vicinity. Ken Reed, the township’s Public Works director, notified PECO of the fallen tree, and during the day, Asplundh employees worked through the heat to remove limbs from the road, in order to free
up traffic. When the morning turned into the afternoon, Reed noticed that while Asplundh was making progress on removing the tree, it wasn’t fast enough. His six-member staff had battled through the same heat the week before – sealing and black-topping roads all over the township – but they quickly responded to Reed’s call and soon arrived at the scene with the appropriate equipment. By the late afternoon, the tree had been completely Photo courtesy of London Grove Township removed, the traffic flowed Members of the London Grove Township Public Works again along Bucktoe Road, Department recently paved blacktop trails throughout and power was eventually Goddard Park on days when the heat index soared Continued on Page 2A
above 100 degrees.
A church in crisis looks for a path forward
In the tank
By John Chambless Staff Writer
The entertainment goes to new heights at this year’s Mushroom Festival ...1B
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
At the risk of getting wet, New Garden Township Supervisor Richard Ayotte graciously volunteered to be the dunk tank target at the Southern Regional Police Department’s third annual National Night Out, held Aug. 6 in West Grove Borough, Avondale and Toughkenamon. For a complete story and more photos, see Page 8A.
Eagle Scout completes bridge project...1B
Dollar Tree seeks a place at former Sears location on Route 1 By Chris Barber Correspondent The agenda of the Aug. 5 East Marlborough Township Board of Supervisors meeting showcased the popularity of the township for continued business and residential development. Since the closure of the Sears store just off Schoolhouse Road near
Country stars are on the way for big concert ...6B
INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2B
their present location a few hundred yards away. The applicants announced at the time that they wanted a site with easier parking and access. At that same meeting, it was announced that Pet Valu would remain in its present location in the east end of the building. On Aug. 5, it was announced Continued on Page 5A
Continued on Page 5A
Kennett Trails Alliance partnering with Penn Trails to complete 14-mile Kennett Greenway By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer For years, efforts to cre-
Classifieds..................4B ate a network of public Calendar of Events.....5B trails in Kennett Township
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Walmart several years ago, the supervisors have handled several conditional use applications for potential occupants. At a previous meeting, they announced the intention of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to take a large chunk of the former Sears space as the CHOP clinic relocates from
The Kemblesville United Methodist Church and its cemetery are a large part of the village, but with a financial future in crisis, the few remaining members are looking for a way to make something good out of a bad situation. At the July 17 meeting of the Franklin Township Board of Supervisors, Tom Veasey and Dan Mahala from the church estimated the church could survive only two more months before having to close its doors. “The Kemblesville Church is in great financial difficulty here,” Veasey told the board. “We can’t afford the mortgage for the building. We’re not using that building very much anyway. We just can’t sustain it.” He explained that the church’s previous pastor, Dave Bergstrom, made a decision to expand the church in 2008, when there were plans to add a large community of homes on property behind the church. Expecting a population increase, the church, which then had some 150 mem-
bers, decided to put on an addition. That debt now stands at $425,000. “It was wrong thinking,” Veasey said. “We took more debt on than we should have. With hindsight, it should never have been done. So things started to turn south. We couldn’t afford pastor Dave’s salary anymore. He was probably one of the better paid pastors in the area. There were some other issues going on that I don’t want to get into. “The decision was made for him to leave,” Veasey continued. “Now, if he had stayed in the Methodist church, he would not have been able to move to a church within a certain number of miles of Kemblesville. But he went to Avondale Presbyterian, and with him went half our congregation.” The replacement pastor, Veasey said, “is a good guy, but very untraditional. This is a conservative area, and he was far from conservative. So this is where we are now. Trying to regain the congregation will be difficult. People hear about what happened. It’s hard to get new people to come in
have been strengthened by partnerships, which now include Kennett Township’s Trails & Sidewalks Committee and the Land Conservation Advisory Committee, the Kennett Square Borough and several private nonprofit organizations, including the the Land
Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC). On Aug. 7 at the Kennett Township Building, another partner in the process was formally introduced to the public for the first time, even though they’ve been in the collaborative network for awhile. During a public presentation, Penn Trails, LLC shared its ideas for the continuing development of the Kennett Greenway Shared Use Path & Trail System, a 14-mile trail that, when
CABINET FACTORY
3460 Naamans Rd, Wilmington, DE 19810
completed, will snake its way through the township. Headquartered in Carlisle, Pa., Penn Trails LLC is an active member of the Professional Trail Builders Association, who have provided 35 years of guidance and direction to the creation of trail and paths, in collaboration with towns and municipalities. The organization has helped to assess, concepPhoto by Richard L. Gaw tualize, plan and construct Penn Trails, LLC project manager Amy Lutsko introhundreds of miles of trails duced the master plan of the greenway, on Aug. 7 at Continued on Page 3A
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